Automatic offset umbrella

ABSTRACT

An automatic umbrella having a dome, a staff and a opening and closing mechanism off center or offset from the center of the dome is described. The opening and closing mechanism includes a plurality of ribs of varying lengths, a plurality of links of varying lengths and a plurality of braces of varying lengths. The combination of ribs, links and braces enable easy and automatic opening of the umbrella.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to an umbrella having a staff that is off center or offset from the center of its dome.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The prior art relates to an umbrella having a staff that is off center or offset from the center of its dome. Such umbrella, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,948,289, has a dome and an opening and closing frame including a plurality of ribs and links. The ribs and the links on the same side of the axis of symmetry of the umbrella are all of varying or different lengths.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an umbrella having a staff that is off center or offset from the center of its dome and an opening and closing frame including a plurality of-ribs, links and braces of varying lengths. The manual offset umbrella is fitted with an automatic opening by introducing new additional braces that, on the same side of the axis of symmetry of the umbrella, are of varying lengths. Such new braces are preferably of different lengths because the links of the antecedent of such umbrella have a different inclination with respect to the axis of the staff. Consequently, in order to obtain an automatic umbrella that is more efficient and thus smaller than an equally effective standard umbrella, it is necessary that precise relations are present among the measures of the different parts that form the frame of such umbrella, for example, the links and the braces. Consequently, the most inclined link will preferably be operatively positioned in relation to the longest brace and the least inclined link will be operatively positioned in relation to the shortest brace.

By doing this, the following relation, that allows the functioning of such umbrella, is preferably complied with when the umbrella is closed. This means that the difference between the length of each brace and the length of its corresponding link, operatively positioned between the pivot point that connects the link to its corresponding brace and the pivot connection that connects the link to the ring, must necessarily produce a measure that is substantially equal to the difference between every other brace and its corresponding link.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal partial cross-sectional side view of the automatic offset umbrella of the invention taken along the line of the axis of symmetry 6-6 of FIG. 2 when the umbrella is opened.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the automatic asymmetrical, i.e., offset, umbrella of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal partial cross-sectional side view of the automatic offset umbrella taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 2 when the umbrella is opened.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal partial cross-sectional side view of the automatic offset umbrella taken along the line of the axis of symmetry 6-6 of FIG. 2 when the umbrella is closed.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal partial cross-sectional view of the automatic offset umbrella taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 2 when the umbrella is closed.

NEW DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to an automatic offset umbrella comprising a canopy 28 of preferably round shape, a dome, an opening and closing frame including a plurality of ribs 11, 14, 17 and 20 of varying lengths, connected to pivot connections indicated by letter H located on the fixed ring 25 adjacent the top of a carrying staff 10 substantially offset or off-center from the center of the dome and adapted to extend radially therefrom when the umbrella is opened, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The frame has a longitudinal axis of symmetry 6-6, as shown in FIG. 2, in which all ribs on the same side thereof are of different lengths.

The frame opens and closes by means of a mechanism that includes a plurality of links 12, 15, 18 and 21 of varying lengths and a plurality of braces 13, 16, 19 and 22 of varying lengths, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. The actual number of such links is equal in number to such ribs. At one end all of said links are collectively connected to the first ring 30 or sliding member mounted on the staff 10 by means of a first pivot connection, as indicated by the letter A when the first ring 30 is in an upper position or by the letter A′ when the first ring 30 is in a down position, while the opposite end of each link 12, 15, 18 and 21 is connected along one of each ribs by means of a first pivot point I, L, M and N, as shown in

FIGS. 1 and 3. Each such first pivot point I, L, M and N is operatively positioned at a different distance from the pivot connection H on the fixed ring 25 and consequently every rib portion or section IH, LH, MH and NH is of a different length although said rib portions and said links on the same side of the axis of symmetry 6-6 all are of different lengths.

Such braces are in equal number to such links. At one end all said braces are collectively connected to a second or supplementary ring 40 or sliding member mounted on the staff 10 by means of a second pivot connection, as indicated by the letter B when the second ring 40 is in an upper position or by the letter B′ when the second ring 40 is in the down or closed position, while the opposite end of each brace 13, 16, 19 and 22 is connected along one of each link 12, 15, 18 and 21 by means of a second pivot point C, D, E and F, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 5. Each such pivot C, D, E and F is situated at a different distance from the first pivot connection A on the first ring 30 and consequently every link portion or section AC, AD, AE and AF is of different length although said link portion and said brace on the same side of the axis of symmetry 6-6 all are of different lengths.

It has to be observed that the length of each brace is determined by the inclination angle of each link with respect to the axis of staff 10. Consequently, it turns out that to the longest brace 13 corresponds link 12 that is of all links the most inclined one; vice versa, to the shortest brace 22 corresponds link 21 that is of all links the least inclined one, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. As regards link 12, which is connected to its corresponding brace 13 by means of a second pivot point C, to prevent the second pivot point C from being too close to the first pivot point I the angle CÅH is required to be not less than approximately 69° and consequently link 21 is required to form an angle FÅH of approximately 84°, as shown in FIG. 1.

To obtain an automatic umbrella that is more efficient and thus smaller than an equally effective standard automatic umbrella, the following two relations have to be achieved.

The first relation is: IH+IA=LH+LA=MH+MA=NH+NA. The sum of the length of each rib portion or section IH, LH, MH and NH plus the length of its corresponding link IA, LA, MA and NA is equal to the sum of the length of every other such rib portion and its corresponding link as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The second relation is: BC−AC=BD−AD=BE−AE=BF−AF=A′B′. The difference between the length of each brace BC, BD, BE and BF and the length of its corresponding link portion or section AC, AD, AE and AF is equal to the difference between the length of every other such brace and its. corresponding link portion. The measure produced by the difference between the length of every brace and the length of its corresponding link portion is equal to the distance A′B′ between the first pivot connection A′ on the first ring 30 and the second pivot connection B′ on the second ring 40, when such rings or sliding members are in the down position or in the closed umbrella position, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 5.

The automatic offset umbrella comprises a propulsive spring 35 that is adjusted between the first ring 30 and the second ring 40. A button 29, when pressed, allows the release of the propulsive spring 35 from a compressed position, as shown in FIGS. 4-5, to a stretched position, as shown in FIGS. 1-3, and this movement of the propulsive spring 35 determines the automatic opening of the umbrella. The same button 29 is also used to manually close the automatic offset umbrella.

The exemplary embodiments herein disclosed are not intended to be exhaustive or to unnecessarily limit the scope of the invention. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the present invention so that others skilled in the art may practice the invention. Thus, as will be apparent to one skilled in the art, various modifications can be made within the scope of the aforesaid description. Such modifications being within the ability of one skilled in the art form a part of the present invention and are embraced by the appended claims. 

1. An automatic umbrella comprising: a dome; a carrying staff; an opening and closing frame including a plurality of ribs of varying lengths, a plurality of links of varying lengths, and a plurality of braces of varying lengths; wherein said plurality of ribs-are pivotally connected adjacent a top of said carrying staff substantially offset from a center of said dome and adapted to extend radially therefrom when said umbrella is in an open position, wherein said frame has a longitudinal axis of symmetry in which each rib present on a common side of said axis has a different length from each other; wherein said plurality of links are pivotally connected to said plurality of ribs; and wherein said plurality of braces are pivotally connected at a first end to said plurality of links and at a second end in a movable relation to said carrying staff.
 2. The automatic umbrella of claim 1, wherein said plurality of links are in equal number to said plurality of ribs, wherein a first end of each of said plurality of links is connected by means of a first pivot connection to a first ring member movably mounted on said carrying staff and a second end of each of said plurality of links is connected to one of said plurality of ribs by means of a first pivot point; and wherein said plurality of braces are in equal number to said plurality of links, wherein said first end of each of said plurality of braces is connected to a corresponding link of said plurality of links by means of a second pivot point and said second end of each of said plurality of braces is connected by means of a second pivot connection to a second ring member movably mounted on said carrying staff, wherein each of said plurality of links between said second pivot point that connects each of said plurality of links to a corresponding brace of said plurality of braces and said first pivot connection that connects each of said plurality of links to said first ring member is a link portion and each said link portion on said common side of said axis of symmetry is of a different length from each other.
 3. The automatic umbrella of claim 2, wherein a difference between a length of a first brace of said plurality of braces and a length of a corresponding link portion is equal to a difference between a length of any brace of said plurality of braces and a corresponding link portion thereof.
 4. The automatic umbrella of claim 3, wherein said difference between said length of each brace of said plurality of braces and said length of said corresponding link portion is equal to a distance between said first pivot connection on said first ring member and said second pivot connection on said second ring member when said first ring member and said second ring member are in a closed umbrella position.
 5. The automatic umbrella of claim 4, further comprising a propulsive spring between said first ring member and said second ring member which adjusts between a compressed position when said umbrella is in a closed position and a stretched position when said umbrella is in said open position.
 6. The automatic umbrella of claim 5, wherein said carrying staff has a button which releases said propulsive spring from said compressed position to said stretched position thereby opening said automatic umbrella. 